Building Healthy “Kowloon City” Community Diagnosis Report 2009

Dr Alice TSO

Chair, Community Diagnosis Committee

Building Healthy Kowloon City Association, Hong Kong

Presentation Outline

• Background of Kowloon City in Hong Kong

• Background of the Survey Study

• Findings

• Conclusion

• Report Recommendations

• Our Way Forward

Background of Kowloon City (9 Dragons) in Hong Kong

Demographics • Kowloon City District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong

SAR • Covers 1,000 acres with population of 362,501 (2006 C&SR)

• The district is mainly a residential area with essentially private sector housing from old tenement buildings to low-rise villas

• Over 200 schools in the district, ranging from kindergartens to universities

• Kowloon City is a place of diversity, its demographic profile ranges from the elderly to the youngsters and from old kai-fongs to new arrivals and ethnic minorities.

• 'Sung Wong Toi' a historical relic from the Sung Dynasty, the Kowloon Walled City and the old Kai Tak airport in Kowloon City are the collective memories of HK people. Now, the District is undergoing a large scale redevelopment which ushers yet another metamorphosis of the district

To food-lovers both local and from afar,

Kowloon City is a well-recognized

gastronomic heaven.

Kowloon City's cooked food

stalls where diners like satay

beef inside their French toast.

Background of the Survey Study in 2009

• The Study has 2 parts carrying the following respective objectives: – To assess the health expectations of the identified focus

groups with sample size of 64 being recruited from community centres • elderly

• people of physical and mental handicaps

• new immigrants essentially from Mainland China

• and secondary school students

– To assess the health expectations of the working population with sample size of 48 who either live or work in the District

• This qualitative survey study was sponsored by Kowloon City District Council which was the first of its kind being conducted in the District

• It intended to shed light to guide the Association on future “Healthy Cities” movement activities within the District

• The Survey was conducted respectively by two appointed consultancy companies and coordinated by the Community Diagnosis Committee of the Association

• The study has used the group interview followed by in-depth interviews to the individuals of the identified focus groups with a total of 112 subjects in 2 parts

Survey Findings

Part 1 Study

• Profile of 64 interviewees

– 25% male, 77% female

– 31.3%> 60, 25% 12-20

– 4.7% with tertiary education

The health expectations of the identified focus groups

• Health Promoting Factors and Meaning of Health – having jobs, good family relationship, ability of self-caring,

active social life…. – None mentioned about healthy living including diet,

exercise, environmental factors….

• Capability of the District in Promoting Health – Diversified views among individuals – Much concern was on their inconvenience resulting from

District redevelopment project

• Vision on Healthy City – Less environmental pollution, more transport facilities,

more hospital facilities….

Part 2 Study Health Expectations of the Working Population

• Meaning of Heath to individual – They were mostly aware of the importance of healthy

living, yet some encountered difficulty in maintaining it. Work stress frequently mentioned by this group

• Family Health – Mostly agreed that health of individual were being

affected by family members’ relationship, family income, and the environmental factors including neighborhood

• Community Heath – Most looked for enhanced community facilities that could

support the families functionally, socially and psychologically

Conclusion

• The identified groups in the first part has limited knowledge on “health” and “healthy living”

• The working population in the second part of the study has better understanding on “health” through diet, exercise, “healthy” living and working environment, and much being stressed by the working population on the “mental health”. They have also pointed out the importance of inter-relationship among health of individual, family and community health

Report Recommendations

• Both groups expressed their expectation to Government’s support to enhancing their environmental health and hygiene, and recreation facilities

• And the District should have a comprehensive, systematic and sustainable program Supported by the Government to build a healthy city for the people of Kowloon City

Our Way Forward

• Despite this Report has been widely distributed to the District Council , and the stakeholders within the Kowloon City District, however, to the presenter, it is also important that we should evaluate its applicability in promoting health within the District

• Therefore, the Association has decided to conduct another Community Diagnosis Study in 2014/2015 so as to evaluate the outcomes of the Healthy Cities movement in the District

• Hopefully, the Kowloon City would be able to come up with a Healthy City Framework and Targets for future comparative studies in the years to come.

Thank You!